Short answer
A PDF is a snapshot. When the brand changes, every copy you've already sent is wrong, and you can't update them. The fix is one place people check, not a newer file.
What happens after you send it
The client saves it. A teammate downloads it from an old email. Someone prints page four. Months later the palette gets a new blue, you send version two, and now two guides are in circulation with nothing to say which one is current.
Signs it has drifted
- The colors in use don't match the guide
- People keep asking you for the logo files
- More than one version is going around
- Nobody knows who to ask
How to keep it current
- Keep one source. Decide where the real guide lives and point people there instead of sending copies.
- Date it. A "last updated" date lets anyone see if their copy is old.
- Share a link, not a file. A link opens the current version. A file is frozen the moment it's saved.
That's how Gydlyne works: one link, always the current version, with the files inside it.
Build your first guide freeQuestions
Is a PDF brand guide ever the right choice?
Yes: for print, when a contract asks for a file, or as an archive. Keep a link as the working version and make a PDF only when you need a fixed copy.